the meaning of being bonded
by greyline
Summary: [AU/ABO!verse] Being left after a night of rough mating with a horrible wound and an incomplete bond, Kardia's goal in life completely changed from becoming the leader of his pack to hunting down the bastard who did this to him and then kicking said bartard's sorry ass. Sounds simple enough, right? Oh dear, have you ever heard that 'life is easier said than done?
1. Degel

Chapter 1. **Degel**

_Degel finds his friend._

**Beta:**_ Ale-chan_

* * *

When Degel arrives, there's no one else in sight, but he can still sense another alpha's scent lingering in the air. It's faint, almost completely vanished, proving that its owner was long gone. But the smell itself is enough to frighten Degel because the tension and the overwhelming feeling contained in it clearly shows that the alpha to whom it belonged is undoubtedly wild and powerful. This conclusion leads to the concern that his friend, the one that he's looking for, faced a great danger.

.

Degel finds him not long after that. He is in a terrible mess. His clothes have been ripped unrecognizably, bruises are everywhere on his body and some injuries look really serious. But the worse is that the scent of the alpha that Degel sensed earlier is all over him.

'Oh my God, Kardia!' He can't help to exclaim loudly and hurriedly approaches his friend.

He had anticipated something bad, a fight in which most likely Kardia would be placed at a disadvantage and obviously get several wounds. But this, never had it cross Degel's mind that such an unbelievable thing could ever happen to his friend. There's a painful bite mark on Kardia's collarbone. It resulted from teeth sinking into the skin with such an enormous force that it was enough to tear it and draw a lot of blood. And what covers him, Degel frightfully notes, is not just blood. It's the mixture of blood and a liquid that is thick with the scent of other alpha. Degel is pretty sure of what it is. This state only leads to a possibility: there has been a mating.

Clearly and terribly enough, Kardia has been forced to mate with another alpha. Of course mating between two alphas isn't something completely impossible or that has never happened before. But it's rare, and more importantly, it concerns Kardia. So it's reasonable that Degel is now on the verge of a panic attack.

'Ugh..' a quiet moan escapes the other's lips, successfully pulling Degel out from his pathetic trail of thought.

'Kardia.' He calls worriedly.

Kardia slowly opens his heavy eyes, still unfocused and clouded. 'Degel?'

'Yes, I'm here.' He shifts closer so that his friend can see him more clearly. 'God, what happened to you?'

The other murmurs weakly in answer. 'Running into a monster at a wrong time, I guess.'

Not very far from the reality, Degel mentally agrees with the sarcastic joke. 'Are you okay?'

'As you can see, not yet.' Kardia shifts slightly and then stops immediately as a pained whimper escapes his mouth. There was clear discomfort in his face. 'It aches everywhere, including where I've never known that it could.'

Degel feels truly bad for him. He gently brushes the hair back from his friend's face, his brow furrowing. 'Just take a rest, then. I'm here with you now. We will talk about what happened later, okay?'

'Hnm hm…' The other nods and falls fast asleep.

* * *

When Kardia wakes up for the second time, it's the next afternoon. Degel has managed to take him to a nearby cave and gave him a quick treatment for the bruises and wounds that are all over his body. His ruined clothes had also been replaced.

Kardia lets out a small grunt, trying to sit up. The pain is still there, but it's not unbearable like the first time. Before he could finish his movement, Degel jumped out of nowhere to appear next to him and give him a hand to support his sore back.

'How are you feeling?' He asks in a worried tone.

Kardia pants slightly, leaning against the wall. 'Better. Thanks, Degel.'

'You're welcome.' he pauses for a while to ensure that there's no further damage, then continues 'So, would you mind telling me the whole story?'

'Ugh...' Kardia groans uncomfortably. Remembering what happened was both humiliating and disturbing. He glances at his friend who still looks at him patiently. Tearing his gaze away, he sighs loudly. 'I'm pretty sure that I was having a completely normal fight with that bastard since the very beginning. Then, in the middle of it, he seemed like going into heat, I don't know, and he started attacking me in an entirely different way. You know how it is, and you know the rest as well.' He finishes with a shrug, clearly showing that they weren't having that conversation ever again.

Degel nods silently. Honestly speaking, he is lost for words. This whole thing was too surreal to accept. He had never thought, not even in his wildest dream, that there would be a day in which his friend would be forced by another alpha. It seemed an insanity.

'So, what are you going to do?' After a while, Degel asks with uncertainty.

'I'm gonna kill that bastard.' He mumbles darkly through gritted teeth. 'The bond hasn't completed yet, I only have to break it and I'll be fine.'

At that, Degel gasps. 'It hasn't—?'

'Yeah, I didn't bite him, even though I desperately wanted to, sinking my teeth into his throat and ripping it open.' His face then becomes darker than Degel could ever imagine it could be. 'But first, I think I should wait until my strength is fully back.' Kardia says tiredly and closes his eyes.

Degel blinks, then realizes how exhausted his friend seems and hurriedly helps him to lie back.

'Yeah… right.'

* * *

The recuperation, however, doesn't seem to go as smoothly as it was expected. It's been three days, but they can't have anything to be optimist about since the wounds haven't seemed to heal at all and Kardia's strength has still showed no sign of recovering. In addition to their concerns, his scent is dull, unsteady and sometimes it becomes weird, not really like an omega's, but alarmingly close to something that's fascinating and tempting to be conquered. It is needless to say how bad it is, especially when they're in the forbidden forest, infamous for its perils, and far away from their territory. Dangers are everywhere and their current condition isn't a good one to deal with any threats right now. They have to return home as soon as possible, yet they also had to find the way to get out of there in one piece, which seemed quite problematic.

Degel refuses to leave his friend alone and undefended in such place and Kardia can't convince him into doing so, since he doesn't seem to have much belief in his ability of self-defense. Even though Kardia hates admitting it, Degel's concern is reasonable. Normally, he could easily handle himself in a forbidden forest, but the state he's now in is nowhere near normal, and worse, he sometimes gives off the smell that screams 'come and take me'. That's the problem, and Degel definitely isn't risking his friend's safety.

.

'Please tell me that that one night won't change me into an omega.' Whines Kardia, after they have escaped yet another attack.

They're still on their way home, depressingly. It's been five days since Degel found Kardia, five days they've been dealing with wild beasts and other alphas thanks to the wonderful scent and Kardia's condition. Indeed, beasts are not much of a problem. The real one is the other alphas that have been trying to get to them. There aren't many of them but unfortunately, the alphas who can wander around the forbidden forest are certainly strong ones. Degel and Kardia definitely aren't up for a fight at the moment, likewise, while an alpha is bad enough, they have more than one to deal with. Thus, facing with such opponents, their only possible mean is to run.

Degel stops over next to his friend and attentive looks around. They are close to the forest's edge now. If nothing unexpected happens, they will be there by the next two hours. Still, after the last days, Degel has little belief there could be such an ease. Just then, there were two alphas after them. He can't sense them now, but it doesn't mean that they're safe.

'That might not be likely to happen.' Eventually, he says.

Kardia looks up at him from where he's sitting, complaining, 'You don't seem too sure about that.'

Degel's brow furrows as he answers. 'I can't. There's too little records of it. You know, mating between two alphas is… extremely uncommon.'

Kardia only snorts in disapproval.

Suppressing a sigh, Degel changes the subject. 'Anyway, how are you feeling?'

'Not any better.' Mumbles the bluenette, his voice is filled with sarcasm. 'I still can't feel my strength, my senses are dull, nothing seems to be improving expect for the scent, which is a miracle.'

Truth be told, Degel didn't expect any different.

'Talking about the scent,' Kardia suddenly adds, 'there's always a rough twist in my stomach before it's given off.'

So, it's the reason for his earlier complain.

Degel shakes his head slightly. 'Maybe it's just because your body is trying to cope with what he left inside of you.'

The mention makes Kardia's eyebrow twitch uncomfortably. 'It still sounds bad.'

They both fall into silence for a few minutes before Kardia speaks up again. 'Can you sense it?'

Degel looks at his friend questioningly.

'I mean, the scent.'

'Oh,' he guesses what he might be referring to, 'Yes, I can sense it, I can feel what it implies, too.' Kardia makes a noise and Degel knows that he was right. 'Come on, I thought we both have already known that I'm an alpha since I was fourteen, haven't we?'

'Yeah. Never mind. I'm just asking.'

Degel let out a sigh. 'Look, I don't know what you have in your mind, but it doesn't work the same on me. I've known you for my whole life as well as the fact that you're an alpha. You are like family to me, therefore, I find it weird and uncomfortable rather than fascinating. It's like when you see your brother naked. You know how it feels like, right?'

Kardia stares at him for a long time, then scratches the back of his neck in confusion. Why the hell were they having this kind of conversation, anyway? 'I know. It's just crossed my mind that it might bother you, that's all.'

'I'm glad you asked in such a way. It could've been more awkward.' Degel replies reluctantly.

Then Kardia starts mumbling something about killing the bastard who caused all this.

Degel is about to think that it'd be the end of their little talk when Kardia asks another question, this time he seems more curious. 'How about Unity?'

Degel blinks. 'Unity?'

'He's your childhood friend too, right? And you guys are going to mate. Does it have something to do with him being an omega?'

Now the confused one is Degel. 'Maybe.' He shrugs. 'It just feels natural for me to be possessive and having the desire to protect him.'

Kardia makes an annoyed face. 'I think I will never understand all these bounding things.'

'You've always said that.' And this time, Degel feels slightly thankful. He wouldn't be comfortable explaining his feeling to his friend. 'That's also your reason for refusing to look for a mate.'

'I'm not interested, being tied to someone else. It just won't work on me.' He frowns thoughtfully.

And Degel knows that giving his friend the lecture about finding the right one and emotions would just be useless as always. Besides, to Kardia, it would sound so freaking tawdry. He then realizes why they were talking about that subject. Kardia had just been forced to mate with someone he barely knew, it makes bounding seem even more intimidating.

'We should go now.' Kardia says, standing up. 'There's no point in wasting more time.'

It isn't time wasting. Degel knows he has to say something to reassure his friend, but for now, he can't find the right words. Maybe it's about understanding, not binding. Then again, how do two persons, who barely know each other, can have such a thing as understanding? They actually haven't meet yet. But soon they will.

And thinking about that, 'Kardia, when we've found— '

Degel's sentence is cut short and they both stand still, frozen. There it is again, all of a sudden, the intense and overwhelming scent filling up the atmosphere. The next thing Kardia knows is the piercing pain shooting throughout him. It's the now familiar cramp in his stomach. But this time, the pain is so great it makes him curl up instinctively. His sight blurs and Degel's shocked voice sounds far way. Great, here comes the worst part, the scent, his own weird, disgusting scent starts spreading through the air, appealing, inviting. It's thicker than ever, as if it was trying to reach, to respond to its instigator. But there's more than one bastard to deal with.

Panting heavily, Kardia forces himself to straighten up. He meets Degel's alarming gaze, already aware of what is coming. There's two alphas, those who had been after them earlier. The encounter is unavoidable.

Not long after that, two figures arrive in front of them. Degel takes a step forward, purposefully blocking the way between them. He snarls threateningly at them, baring his teeth. His whole body tenses up, ready for the upcoming fight. Kardia stands next to him. There are trails of sweat running down his face. Degel can tell that his friend is still in pain. He probably can't last long, they can't run now, either. Clearly, they are at a disadvantage, but Degel is sure that they won't back down.

Their opponents, on the contrary, seem very relaxed. One of the newcomers speaks up first.

'Hi there, sweetie. A little bit nervous, aren't ya?'

The guy's voice is annoying. He blatantly studies Kardia from head to toe and licks his lips in a sickening way.

Kardia merely grunts in response.

The other one is seemingly more cautious. His narrowing gaze slowly shifts from Kardia to Degel. He utters with a gruff voice. 'You are not his alpha.'

'Ha, isn't it clear that the bond is incomplete, dude?' The first one interrupts, then points towards Kardia. 'That's what makes you the precious one, doesn't it? Marked, but unclaimed.'

'It is not what I meant, dumbass!' Hisses the other.

'Whatever! You can keep your shit and jerk off to it. I'm getting my prize now.' Mockingly, he walks pass his fellow, aiming at Kardia.

The first movement is fast. As careless he might seem, this man is a tough adversary. Kardia can block the initial blow, but he's not so sure about the others. The other two have also taken action, Degel is busy now.

Taking back a step, Kardia barely escapes what would have been a very painful blow. The guy bursts out laughing, already set up for another strike. Kardia utters a curse and can't find himself feeling as excited as usual. What he's doing now isn't even fighting. Right from the beginning he had missed the rhythm. It's just the matter of time until he is taken down. He has to find another way, but his head is spinning, he cannot concentrate on the other's movement, let alone think. It's when his stomach gives another squeeze that he completely loses his track and gets a direct kick. The blow sends him flying back a good few yards before he hits a tree and drops right on the spot. Degel's yell flashes over his ears.

'Ugh…' Kardia groans, trying to stand up and fails. It isn't about the crash, though he can be sure that half of his wounds are now open again. He knows, but it's not painful as much as it should be. The pain in his stomach has blurred every other feelings, it's still so painful that the rest of his body is numb.

Through clouded eyes, he sees the smug bastard get closer. And he can't even stand now.

Shit.

_End chapter 1_

* * *

**A/N:** I'd like to thank Ale-chan for having been dealing with me and my unbearable irresponsibility from the very beginning, gosh, what would I do without you?

And for those who's been waiting for 'Addiction' (which is now 'Asphyxiophilia'), I'm sorry I can not continue it now. I'm so so sorry.


	2. Wyvern

Chapter 2. **Wyvern**

_Rhadamanthys shows up._

**Beta:**_ Ale-chan_

* * *

When Rhadamanthys arrives, there's no one else in sight. It's what he expected. He knows the one with whom he has mated isn't dead, even an incomplete bond can tell.

Much to Rhadamanthys's disapproval, the event of the previous night was, undeniably, an accident. For a moment he lost control and let his instinct take over his body. As result, he woke up in the next morning and soon realized he had forced someone – who happened to be his opponent – to mate with him. From the other's state, he could tell it wasn't a smooth process. The next thing he did was also out of his right sense: he left.

Rhadamanthys's mind had been in blank for a while. All his thoughts were incoherent and he couldn't quite figure anything out. He was clouded with disbelief, he always thought that he had perfect control over himself, yet, this time he was proven to be wrong. The time and the place made it even more unacceptable. If he hadn't been where he was, he could've avoided doing anything out of hand. It was the infamous forbidden forest, where he comes to stay for a few days once or twice per year during a specific time. It's just called a 'specific time'. Unlike omegas, alphas don't have heat. However, there's a short period when they are more intense, more excitable and harder to hold themselves. Rhadamanthys always spends those times away and alone. He doesn't like acting under the rule of anything besides his own decision, so he has no interest in finding anyone, even for the sake of the occasion. It should've been the time and place when he would've everything under control, yet this time it was the opposite. He didn't even remember what happened. His mind was far too gone in a desire that he never knew could be so strong. It seemed to have burnt down any pieces of reason left in him. It was not normal and he knew that it wasn't merely because of instinct, either. There must be something, something in this forest that pushed him off his balance. Until now, that was the most suitable explanation for the unwanted bond.

Despite all those uncertainties, Rhadamanthys didn't let the matter confuse him for long. Whatever he did was done. Even though the bond wasn't complete, it was still his responsibility. He would take it without any further considerations. And come to think about it, he taking his leave wasn't something completely unreasonable. It wasn't the best condition for him to stay then. His mind was still slightly blurred, if something out of control happened, his mate wouldn't survive. But now Rhadamanthys had ensured that there would never be such thing again. That's why he came back to the forest.

.

There's nothing that could possibly belong to his mate left. Rhadamanthys begins to call that person his mate now, not for any particular reason, simply because it's what he's supposed to call him. He can barely remember the man. He is young, younger than Rhadamanthys, with long, blue hair, and he's an alpha. Whether his mate was an alpha, omega or beta doesn't bother Rhadamanthys, though. He didn't get to choose, after all. What annoys him now is the bond, their incomplete bond. Because it's imperfect, it doesn't create those wonderful effects which people talk about all the time, including mind-connecting. Unfortunately, without it, Rhadamanthys has very little clue of his mate's whereabouts.

Bonding has never been his concern, so it's understandable that he doesn't know much about what to do now, especially with a bond that wasn't made properly between two alphas. After considering for a while, Rhadamanthys decides to pick the most common way, through the scent. By releasing pheromone, his presence will be known. It's the fastest way to draw attention from others. Of course, most of the times, the others aren't nice ones, but he doesn't mind dealing with whoever comes, as long as this measure brings the result he wants. When the pheromone reaches his mate, in one or other way, it will be responded.

Rhadamanthys doesn't have to wait long. After a few minutes, there's another scent spreading through the air. Surely it's the first time he meets this scent, but he knows perfectly well that it's what he's been waiting for. Without hesitance, he follows the scent. The closer he gets, the more clearly he feels his mate's presence. He's not alone, though. There are three other alphas there. Rhadamanthys doesn't like the thought of it. Not even a bit.

* * *

The scent gets stronger. Kardia knows he should worry about the bastard before him other than something pointless like that, but he can't help it. It's what put him in this situation, after all.

'Oh dear! Hope I didn't beat ya too hard.' The bastard looks down at him, mockingly. 'It's sad to see you like that but don't worry, you're still beautiful, if not even more.'

Then there's a sickening laughter that follows. Kardia wants nothing more than to throw a punch at that face, wiping that smug look away. Unfortunately, he's too busy panting.

The other bends down to grab his collar, pulling him closer to his face. Kardia is ready to fight the bastard with tooth and nail, literally. But before the two of them do anything else, suddenly, another alpha stands next to them, now gripping the hand on his collar.

'Let go.' The newcomer says coldly.

For a moment, every one there is frozen in place, astonished from the sudden arrival. They can all feel the tension hanging in the air, the awareness of an incredible power. This man is fast, so fast no one knew he was coming until he showed up next to his target.

And the target, who is now overwhelmed with amazement, doesn't look any better. His face is a lot paler than before, twisting in pain. His hands obediently do as he is ordered, as if they had no strength left. It's probably true, the grip doesn't seem very gentle. However, he still dares to speak up.

'You are his alpha.'

It isn't even a question. But the newcomer shows no interest in keeping up with the conversation. He only orders 'Get lost.' and releases his target's hand.

The man stands still for a while, deep in thought. He can fight, doing exactly what the alpha instinct is screaming at him. He could also obey, for the sake of his life which he will be likely to lose if he followed that path. Whatever his choice would be, things will end fast, either the encounter or his life. So he chooses the wise way. He backs down. His fellow also seems to notice what's happening and hurriedly follows him. They have lived long enough to know whom they can take and whom they'd better run away from.

Kardia, for his part, doesn't even shift. He just can't. This man, Kardia knows perfectly who he is. Oh, how could he not? This is the one with whom he has forced him to mate with, he who caused all this mess, he whom he wanted to meet so badly. But for now, he is more confused than he's ever been in his entire life. There's a part inside him, which he didn't know before, telling him again and again that he was safe now, that he should feel that way, he should let his guard down now, in front of this man – a completely stranger. It's almost like surrendering. Meanwhile, the rest of him is screaming the opposite. Kardia doesn't surrender. But the pheromone is still here, and so is the pain and the bite mark on his collarbone had begun to sting. All that makes it really hard to concentrate on the matter.

.

Rhadamanthys turns around to his look at mate. He seems to be having difficulties. He can smell blood and clearly see the crimson stains all over where his wounds are. Maybe he was too easy when he let those ones go off earlier. Next time, then. Frowning, Rhadamanthys takes a step forward, spreading out his arm to reach the other's shoulder. His mate flicks at the touch as if he's hurt, he then cocks his head to stare at him. He's still tense, Rhadamanthys can tell just from the look in his eyes. His lips are in a thin line as he trying to stand up. He hisses through gritted teeth.

'Enough now. Get rid of your scent.'

His mate is in pain, and it has something to do with his scent. It's what Rhadamanthys can conclude from the rather harsh response. Wordlessly, he drops his hand, and without hesitation, holds back the pheromone, doing what his mate demands. It's not a big deal. He finds no reason for making his mate uncomfortable. At least, for now.

Carefully, Rhadamanthys takes a close look at the one who is supposed to be his mate. The long, bluish hair is the same as he remembers. He is slightly shorter than him so Rhadamanthys has to look down to meet a pair of blue orbs. He states calmly.

'I'm here to take my responsibility.'

And at his words, Kardia's eyes widen. There are so many emotions flashing through them that Rhadamanthys can't quite catch them properly. But the clearest seem to be shock and anger. Anger?

Rhadamanthys doesn't need to wonder for long because the next reaction he receives is a grope on his collar, with the other hissing at him through his gritted teeth.

'What the hell do you mean by taking responsibility? Does it means that you will let me rip up your throat? Because if it doesn't, I'll still do it, right the fuck now.'

Rhadamanthys is speechless and he has never been speechless before. This reaction is not what he expected. Of course he didn't thought it would be easy, but his nearest-to-proposal had just been replied with a threat of brutal murder, he literally has the right to be shocked a little bit. If it isn't a hell of a lot.

Before Rhadamanthys can fully recover from the rejection, the guy who has been there the whole time suddenly jumps between them, exclaiming loudly.

'Wait, wait, Kardia! Calm down! We need to talk!'

'Later, Degel. I'm busy here.'

Kardia, as he's been called, grunts. His heated gaze never leaves Rhadamanthys.

'Kardia, please, it's important.' The other tries. 'It's what I was about to tell you before.'

'Couldn't it wait?'

'No.'

'… Alright.'

With that, Rhadamanthys is shoved back roughly before the other turn heel and drag his friend to another corner. He can only stare at them wordlessly.

.

'Listen, you can't kill him.' Degel says, sounding really serious.

'What the hell are you— '

Before Kardia can protest further, Degel cut him short. 'You can't and he won't let you. And even if the impossible happened and he offered you his throat, you still shouldn't do that. For God's sake, Kardia! Try to take in my word for once, will you? Don't you remember that you two are bound? Or more precisely, you are bound to him now. If he were dead, then you wouldn't be better, half alive would be a blessing. That's it.'

He finishes his lecture, slightly breathless due to his attempt to make the information sink into his friend's head as much as possible.

Kardia doesn't look well at all. His brow's furrows and Degel knows he's about to say 'I don't care' or something Kardia-like as every time. So he adds. 'I know you are angry. But think about it, you know we can't do anything right now, right?'

At that, Kardia sighs. He's aware of this fact, even more than anyone else. It's true, he was angry. He still is, but he's not just saying things. That man and him, they must fight again, no matter what. Though, Degel is right, it's not today. While he doesn't care much about risking his life, Degel's is another story.

Degel looks at his friend, his voice softens as he tries to soothe the other. 'I'm sorry, Kardia.'

'No you aren't.' The words come as an absented murmur.

Regardless, he stretches a hand to touch the bluish hair. 'I am.'

It's then when Rhadamanthys decides that maybe this Degel guy is more annoying than any other irritating thing he has had to deal with in his entire life. The next thing that occurs in his head, however, is nothing because he is too busy dragging his mate home, ignoring all protests. So far he can take all the punching and kicking. Unfortunately, he seems to have forgotten his mouth.

'Let go of me, bastard! Are you deaf? Let go! I swear to God, bonding or not, I'm gonna kill you and then tear you into pieces—'

Rhadamanthys suddenly stops his steps, which instantly cuts short the trail of curses falling from the other's mouth. The language makes his eye twitch. He roughly grasps his mate's shoulder, minding not to put too much force, before locking their gazes.

'Rhadamanthys.' The name comes out almost as a growl. 'Rhadamanthys Wyvern. That's my name. You are going with me, no more argument.'

For a brief moment, Kardia is taken aback, but he immediately snaps back. 'Not even in your dreams, bastard! Who do you think you are? I obey no one.'

He keeps struggling and Rhadamanthys notices that the act is making the wounds on his body to open and bleed again. This doesn't help his growing fury. Still, Rhadamanthys keeps it in check before opening his mouth to speak again, trying to make his voice sound softer, but fails nonetheless.

'I'm offering this to you. Even if you don't admit it, the state you're in now makes you vulnerable. Since I'm the one who has mated with you, I have the responsibility to ensure that you are safe, whether you like it or not.'

'I don't need any one to babysit me.' Kardia sneers in response.

He stops struggling, which is good, but his whole body is still tense. It can be fixed later, though.

Rhadamanthys points out mercilessly. 'Just then you were nearly killed.'

The other bares his teeth at him, but falls silent.

Rhadamanthys decides to push it a little more. 'All you need is time to recover without disturbance. But other alphas' – he halts briefly to toss a dreadful glance toward Degel, who has been following them the whole time, then continues – 'won't let you.'

Kardia goes completely still, seemingly deep in thought.

.

Degel watches the pair from his distance. There's nothing much he can do right now. It's not that he's too afraid of the stranger's strength nor the dreadful glance the man has thrown at him, it's just that Degel knows better than acting blindly. His friend has been unwillingly bound to that man, it means that if anything bad happens to him, it will affect Kardia too; though Degel honestly doubts that there's someone, or something, that can stand a challenge against the man. He and Kardia are not an exception. Fortunately, that alpha is here to defend his mate rather than the other way around. At least that's what he has done up to now and it's the best he and Kardia have had in past few days. Besides, he seems to know what buttons to push. He's right, Kardia's condition is unusual and it needs proper treatment. But there's nothing that can guarantee that the other alphas won't attack again, and as it turns out, they can't handle it on their own. So, apart from that man's offer, they don't have many other choices. Going on their journey with no defense is still a bigger risk. Kardia surely knows that, too. Perhaps, Degel should finish the task here.

'Kardia.' He calls, and both of the pair turn to look at him, one of whom has a terrifying gaze on him. Nevertheless, Degel suggests. 'When you fully recover, we could possibly find a way to break the bond.'

On that instant, Degel clearly felt the murderous intentions hanging in the air. He choose to ignore it.

The pair were still for a while until, eventually, Kardia said to Rhadamanthys, not bothering to hide the hatred filling in his voice. 'I'll go with you' he then pointed to Degel 'but he will, too.'

'Deal.'

The word is almost crushed under the enormous force in the man's voice.

If there's someone who would feel excited about this, well, it definitely isn't Degel.

_End chapter 2_

* * *

**A/N: **thanks for all fav/follow/reviews, you guys are the best! xD


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